


The Promise of the Boy from Gongaga

by RikuKingdomHearts3



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Childhood Friends, F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23895889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikuKingdomHearts3/pseuds/RikuKingdomHearts3
Summary: Tifa was originally from Gongaga, but she moved to Nibelheim when she was very young. Though most of her memories of her hometown were forgotten since she was too young to properly remember, there was one she never forgot. The young boy she had befriended, and made a promise to…  even if she forgot his name she never forgot the promise that they would meet again one day. She only wished that she knew when that one day would be.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Tifa Lockhart
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

A little 4-year-old Tifa sat down by the shoreline. The sun had already set and she knew that she should head back home, but she was still waiting. She knew he would show up soon enough, and besides, she was brave! She was only four but she knew that she could handle herself!

But… she didn't like waiting alone. It got lonely and maybe just a bit scary quickly and she really, really wanted him to be here soon. She knew it wouldn't be longer though… at least she hoped.

After a few more seconds of watching the waves she could hear fast approaching footsteps. Turning around she smiled happily as she saw the familiar raven-haired boy running towards her. Standing up she ran to meet him, nearly crashing into him and knocking him over in the process. Though realistically with him being three years older than her, she would never have been able to properly knock him over.

"You here!" she shouted happily.

"Course I'm here! I said I would! I gotta keep my promises after all."

Tifa smiled again. "Good!" Though a second later she started frowning, feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness fill her.

The boy placed a hand on her head, looking worried. "Hey Tifa, what's wrong? Why are you sad? Did something happen, or are you hurt?"

Tifa shook her head. "No. I'm sad cause I gotta leave."

"Leave? But I just got here?"

Shaking her head again Tifa tried to keep herself from crying, but she could already see the tears filling up in her eyes. "Momma and Papa said we are leaving! Going somewhere else…"

"But where could you be going? Why would you leave Gongaga?"

Now the tears were free and streaming down her face. "I don't know! I don't know! They just say we gotta! I don't wanna leave though!"

"Hey hey, it's all right Tifa. Don't cry though," the boy said as he spoke softly. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "I'm here for you so you don't gotta feel sad."

"But if I go away we can't play anymore." Tifa tried to wipe away her tears but she found it too hard because they just kept coming.

The boy hummed softly as he kept on hugging Tifa. "This really stinks… cause we're friends and now you'll be going away. But hmm.. Oh! I got it."

Pulling away from Tifa he stood slightly back from her. Offering her his usually happy and cheerful smile, he held out his right hand with his pinky extended. "We should make a pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise?"

"It means something that will always be there or something. Something you keep and make sure happens! Like when Ma says she says if I promise to be good she will make my favorite dinner. Like a promise but super special."

"Oh! Yeah! Momma has made me do pinky promises before. I get it! What we promise then?"

"We promise that we will always be best friends. And… and that we will find each other again when we are older. Then we can keep on being best friends forever."

Tifa smiled, all of her sadness fading away now. When she was with her best friend, everything was always better. He was really her best friend and she wasn't sure what she was going to do without him. But… she didn't wanna think about that anymore. Right now they were trying to be happy and that was what mattered.

"Yay! Best friends forever! That means for a really, really long time right?"

"Right! And maybe when we are older I'll be a hero!"

Tifa's eyes widened. "A hero?"

"Yeah like in the story books. I can be a really cool hero, cause a hero protects and saves his friends."

Tifa giggled. "I like! You can be a hero and we can be friends again when we older!"

"Yes! That's right! So let's promise it."

Tifa finally reached out her right pinky finger and locked it with the older boy. "Now what?"

"Now… um… how about we say 'I promise to always be best friends with you' but like at the same time. So then it's like a super serious pinky promise."

"Okay!"

"On the count of three we will say it together, all right? Ready? One… two… three…"

"I promise to always be friends with you."

"And," the boy said afterwards "I also promise that I will find you one day when I am old enough to travel the world and be a hero!"

After they spoke in unison they immediately started to giggle. Any worries or sadness about Tifa leaving were forgotten in that moment and only joy was there. The boy smiled broadly before hugging Tifa again. "Since you gotta leave at some point, we better have as much fun as we can before that. We should get to playing before our parents call us home for the night. Right, Tifa?"

Tifa nodded and returned a smile. "Right! Let's go play. Let's play tag! You're it…"

* * *

Tifa's eyes fluttered open to the light that was streaming into her bedroom. The images faded from her mind and now all that was there was just the faint memories from before. Right away she frowned and exhaled softly. "Always right when I'm so close… so close to remembering your name…"

Tifa rolled onto her side and stared at her window. "I wonder… are you still in Gongaga? Or maybe you left to be a hero… I wish I knew." Tifa flipped onto her otherside. "I doubt it though. It's only been five years, you're only twelve now right? Yeah… probably too young to be a hero."

Feeling a small sense of defeat since there was no way to recall anything else, she sat up in her bed. "I guess just gotta keep waiting. I still remember our promise, so please…" Tifa held out her pinky as if someone would be there to connect with it. "I hope you have too."


	2. Chapter 2

Tifa stepped outside and closed the door as quietly as she could. She had to make her way down to the water tower without being seen. Thankfully just about everyone was sleeping so she knew she didn't have to worry.

Eventually she reached the location. She could already see there was someone else there as she suspected. He sat there quietly swinging his feet slightly back and forth. He hadn't even seemed to notice her approach or even climbing up.

She eventually was at the top and walked around the main tower section. "Hiya."

The blond, Cloud, turned around once he heard her voice. He still sat there though as she got closer to him. "So what did you wanna talk about?"

She got a little bit closer to him before sitting down just a few feet away. She waited for Cloud to turn towards her but instead he still faced the other as he started to talk. "When spring comes I'm leaving town and going to Midgar."

Tifa frowned though Cloud could not see it. She wouldn't say that she was super close with him, but she knew that she was pretty much his only friend. All the other kids would mess with him and he would get into fights with so many of the other boys. She knew it wasn't his fault though, he wasn't actually a rude or bad kid… he was just too easily defensive and jumping quickly to anger.

But she still did care for him. She could see how lonely he really was and how nice he could be when he tried. He was always nice and considerate to her at least and she appreciated it. So hearing that he was going to leave, it saddened her.

"I should've figured. All the guys are leaving."

In the corner of her eye she saw that Cloud turned to face her. "B-But I'm not like them, I'm not going to just look for work." He turned to stare up at the sky. "I'm going to be a SOLDIER. The best of the best. Like Sephiroth."

SOLDIER. They heard so much about that nowadays. Midgar's elite army. It was something Tifa had started to think about frequently ever since the stories and reports came out. These SOLDIERs were strong heroes sent out to fight in the wars and everything else.

A hero. Ever since she heard the name and what they were, Tifa couldn't help but wonder about it. " _Could he be out there? Wanting to also be in SOLDIER? Or maybe since he is older, he is already out there trying."_

Tifa sighed, trying not to let her thought loop on the subject like usual. She was still talking to Cloud and needed to focus on the subject at hand. "The great war hero, huh? Hm… isn't it pretty hard to become a SOLDIER?"

With the constant wandering thoughts about her friend and if he was in SOLDIER, Tifa had done what she could to learn about the subject. It was hard with the limited resources they had, but she had seen that there were a lot of complicated elements to it.

Cloud sighed as he rested an arm on his knee. "Yeah. So I won't be back for a long time."

Tifa let her thoughts drift in again. _"If it takes a long time… since he is only three years older… maybe he hasn't made it yet. But maybe…"_

Tifa leaned back on her hands. "Guess not. Think you'll be in the papers?" She was asking Cloud because she wanted to, but it was also because she was wondering the same thing about her old friend. She wished she could find him to ask thim these sand questions because she knew… she just knew he would also want to be SOLDIER.

"I'll try," Cloud replied softly.

Tifa began to swing her legs, once more diving into her thoughts. Cloud was going away, off for probably many years as he worked to be in SOLDIER. It was almost hard to believe but she knew he was probably determined.

"Cloud… you think maybe, you could promise me one thing?" She asked as she let the thoughts guide her. "When we're older, and you're a famous SOLDIER… if I am ever trapped or in trouble… promise you'll…"

Tifa cut herself off after that. Her thoughts came to a crashing halt. She had just tried her best to say what was on her mind, but no matter what she did to try and stay focused, she kept going back to _him._

Almost subconsciously she started lightly rubbing her pinky finger. Smiling at the thought, even if right now in the moment it felt bittersweet.

"Huh? What is it?" Cloud asked.

"Oh… sorry. It's just. I want to make this promise, but I keep thinking of this other promise I made when I was really young."

"O-Oh… I see…" Cloud said, sounding a bit disheartened.

"But!" Tifa said quickly. "It was something I made when I was really young. Before I moved here. It's just like… you know a cherished memory."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Before you moved here?"

Tifa smiled and nodded. "Yup, first four years of my life I was in Gongaga."

"Gongaga? Never heard of it."

Tifa laughed. "It was a small place, kind of like this. But farther south. I had a friend there… one of my best friends I had, but then I moved here. Though before I did, we made a promise to always be friends and then he added that one day he was going to be a hero. I haven't forgotten it since… it means a lot to me."

"I see… I um… I wouldn't want to come between that," Cloud replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"No! You don't have to think that Cloud. It's just I keep thinking about it, I can't help it. But…" she leaned closer to him, smiling. "Who says I can't have two friends who are heroes?"

"Well… I guess…"

"So then you'll promise? Promise to come and save me if I am ever in trouble? Cause that's what heroes do, they save their friends," Tifa said, recalling the long ago memories of what her best friend once told her.

Cloud still looked so uncertain, but Tifa wasn't ready to stop. She wasn't going to do a pinky promise, as that was revered for the other boy, but she could at least get Cloud to say it.

"Please?" she asked kindly. "Promise me?"

Cloud started to contemplate it, trying to understand her. Eventually he nodded. "Fine… I promise."

Feeling resolved and relieved, Tifa smiled. "Thank you."

She went back to looking up at the stars, seeing out beautiful and clear the sky was. While she sat there eventually Cloud spoke up again. "So… who was this guy?"

"Oh… I can't remember. Not exactly. I remember his face and how kind and funny he was, but I can't think of his name. There are some things I forgot probably because when we… you know, I tried to go to Mt. Nibel."

Cloud shifted slightly. She knew what he was thinking and she wished she could convince him it wasn't his fault. The bridge was old anyways and her injuries were. ever his fault. Her father didn't see it that way though which only ostracized him more from the others. But with the accident she had lost some memories, thankful the promise stayed with her, but things like his name alluded her. Her father never seemed to remember either, but he had always been busy so she could understand.

"Cloud, it's okay. I said already that I was only four when I left. It was really young and I probably would have forgotten his name anyways," she said trying to reassure him.

"If you say so…"

"Though, do you think maybe you could promise me one more thing?"

"What's that?"

"When you get to Midgar, and you go to try and be a SOLDIER, keep an eye out for a energetic, black haired boy from Gongaga, okay? Just in case he is out there trying too."

Cloud shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

Tifa smiled with the new resolve that she felt. "Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my bests to work through this scene to make it fit. Hope it worked well!


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud walked through the snow at what he thought was a normal pace. But when he turned around he saw that he was ahead of both the Turk Tseng and another Infantryman buddy. The only one that was keeping pace with him was actually the 1st Class SOLDIER; Zack.

Zack smiled and turned around to face the two that were still waking slower. "Yo! Don't fall too far behind!"

Cloud heard him laugh slightly before resuming walking and walking right besides him. "At least someone is keeping up!"

"Well I'm a country boy, too," Cloud answered honestly.

In the corner of his eyes he could see Zack's expression lighting up. "From where?"

Cloud slowed down and stopped to face Zack, who also had stopped walking briefly. "Nibelheim."

Zack looked at him before he started to break out into laughter. Honestly Cloud didn't know why it seemed so funny to the guy. "How about you?"

"Me? Gongaga!"

Cloud gasped, his eyes widening but no one was really going to see that with his helmet on. Honestly he was surprised he hadn't realized it until now. " _He's the one that Tifa was friends with? He has to be… fits the description after all. But I can't be too sure yet."_

"Hey! Why so quiet? You even heard of Gongaga?" Zack asked as he approached.

Cloud chuckled lightly. "Yeah I have actually. But it's such a backwater."

Zack nearly rolled his eyes. "Ditto Nibelheim!"

While Cloud was curious to see if this was the guy Tifa had talked about, he first felt like he had to defend his home town. He wasn't going to just let some other country boy insult it like that… even if in reality he knew it was a rather backwater name. "Like you've been there!"

Zack shrugged. "I haven't, but there's a reactor there, right? A mako reactor outside of Midgar usually means…"

"Nothing else is out there," both of them answered at the same time.

A second later they broke into laughter. Smiling brightly, Zack looked back to Tseng who was still trailing behind. "Good news, Tseng! Me and…" he looked over to Cloud with a question glance.

Slowly Cloud took off his helmet and gave a friendly smile. "Cloud."

"Me and Cloud here are both backwater experts. Oh yeah!" Zack shouted with high enthusiasm.

Cloud smiled again. " _Man he really is full of energy. I guess some things never change with some people."_

The two started to walk away, trudging through the snow while still keeping ahead of the other two. "So, you actually know of Gongaga?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, I have. I got a friend back home that grew up there before moving to Nibelheim."

"Oh really?!"

Right away Cloud could see that he had peaked Zack's interest. It only furthered his guess that Zack most definitely had to be Tifa's childhood friend. "Yeah, that's right."

"Who is it? Like I mean what's their name?" Zack was practically bouncing on his heels at this point.

"Maybe I'll tell you after, we have a mission to do after all," Cloud said as they reached the cliffside.

"Aw c'mon, seriously? You tell me you got a friend but you aren't going to tell me who it is? Cause ya know I used to have a friend back home, but she moved away years ago. I don't know where she went though, so maybe it's-"

Tseng cleared his throat as he got to the two young men, cutting them off from any further conversation. Cloud could still see Zack was pouting slightly, almost looking a bit impatient as Tseng explained the plan to them.

Afterwards Zack sighed and faced Cloud. "Okay, after this mission you gotta tell me about your friend okay?"

Cloud nodded to him. "Okay, sounds good."

Though he never got the chance after the mission. He didn't know exactly what happened, but when Zack returned to the helicopter to leave he looked so tired and disheartened. He wore a new sword on his back, and he barely even looked up when speaking to Tseng.

Whatever had happened really left him not wanting to talk or say anything at all. Cloud felt bad for the guy even though they had just met. Zack had seemed like a rather nice and friendly guy, but now he looked like the complete opposite.

" _I guess I should wait a bit before telling him about Tifa…"_ Cloud thought to himself as they took off to head back to Midgar.

* * *

It was months before Cloud really saw Zack again. He had seen him briefly once when he was leading the infantrymen troops and a regiment of 3rd class, but other than that he hadn't seen much of him. From what he heard though, Zack was put on stand-by for a while but Cloud didn't know what the reason was for.

What Zack was doing in his time off was going to visit Aerith.

She was the only one that he was close enough to that understood. She comforted him when he needed it most and he couldn't have been more thankful. Yet with everything going on he still had hard too many thoughts going on in his head.

"Zack? Your head lost in the fog again?" Aerith asked him gently while tending to her flowers.

"Yeah… just a lot of stuff still on my mind. You know with Angeal… and all that other stuff…"

Aerith hummed before walking over and sitting down next to him. She placed an arm around him and leaned lightly against his shoulder. "Do you wanna talk about it this time?"

"Maybe… there's just something else I've been trying to think about, but it's been hard with everything else."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Aerith asked inquisitively.

Zack sighed before resting his arms on top of his knees. "You remember when we first met? How we were talking and eventually I told you that I had that one special childhood friend?"

Aerith laughed. "You mean the one you talked about after you felt embarrassed about asking me for one date?"

When Zack had done that, he thought Aerith would be insulted or mad at him for it. But she had been so understanding back then. He never knew someone who was that considerate, but maybe that was the reason he still cared about her so much. She always would look to how the other was feeling and do her best to understand them.

"Y-Yeah… her."

"Did something come up?"

"Sort of… there was this infantry kid on that Modeoheim mission. He said that he had a friend who used to be from Gongaga before moving to where he lived. But… I never got the chance to ask him who it was."

"Is there anything stopping you from asking him now?"

"I… I don't know." Zack lowered his head, feeling a little defeated. "I guess maybe I am just afraid to find out. What if it isn't her? If it's not Tifa and just some other person by coincidence… then…"

"There's no harm in trying Zack. You never know until you try."

Zack nodded as he listened to her words. She was right after all. "I guess so. I just really want to see her again. It's been just about ten years now since I last saw her and I still haven't forgotten her or our promise."

Aerith hummed softly. "You two really must be soulmates."

"What? Come on, Aerith. That stuff is just in stories. It isn't real."

Laughing Aerith sat up straight, looking Zack right in the eye. "The concept of soulmates may not be entirely true, but what you have for her is real. Whether you want to call it soulmates or true love, it is there."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Zack found himself starting to smile. "You think so?"

"You haven't stopped thinking about this girl for an entire decade. I think that is a pretty good accomplishment." Playfully, Aerith poked his cheek. "I think it's really sweet and cute for you to do that."

A small laugh escaped Zack's lips, making him feel better about the whole situation. "Thank Aerith. I guess I just need to go and find Cloud and ask him. Like you said, no harm in trying at least."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why, but I feel like these chapters being shorter works. I think the longer it goes on they will grow, but for now I hope you all enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

Zack kept a close eye out as he wandered around Shinra headquarters. He was still on standby after the Modeoheim mission so he had plenty of time to just wander and nothing else. But of course that still made things harder as he had no idea if Cloud was going on out missions or not.

_"Come on… can't be that hard to find him. When you have spiky hair like that you have to stick out in a crowd. How the heck did he managed to keep it all under his helmet anyways."_

Zack continued to walk through the floor trying to see if Cloud was even out in the headquarters on that day. Eventually he came by the lounge area for SOLDIER and infantrymen. Right away his eyes feel on to the familiar blond. Zack smiled and picked up his pace as he walked over to him.

"Hey Cloud!"

"Oh!" Cloud straightened up as soon as he saw Zack. "Uh yes… ah sir?"

Zack smiled and shook his head. "You don't have to call me that just cause I am a 1st. Even if we're on missions together, just call me Zack, okay?"

"Right," Cloud replied with a nod. "So um… is there something you wanted?"

"Yeah and you know what it is!" Zack exclaimed. "You need to tell me about your friend now."

"Ah, I see. Well um what do you want to know?"

"You gotta tell me man! Like… is this friend of yours a girl?"

Zack saw Cloud shift back, clearly surprised by his assumption question. "Yeah? How'd you figure that?"

Zack grinned widely "Oh, well the friend I had that moved away was a girl. Black hair, big red eyes..."

"You... you mean Tifa?" Cloud asked.

Zack's expression lit up hundred times brighter than before. "TIFA!" Zack exclaimed, practically jumping on the spot. A few of the other men started to look his way, but he didn't care at all if they stared. "It's her! It's really her! Ah come on we gotta go see her!"

Zack grabbed onto Cloud's wrist and started to pull him out of the louge, but Zack could feel that the guy didn't really want to move his feet. "Come one slowpoke, hurry up!"

"But Zack..." Cloud said, trying to process Zack's sudden energy. "We're in Midgar. She's still back in Nibelheim."

Zack suddenly stopped, letting Cloud's words catch up to him. He breathed in deeply as he let his mind finally calm down a little. "Oh yeah, right. Boy, I nearly took off. Faster than a chocobo at feed time."

"I guess..." Cloud stared down at the floor. "So... you're actually the childhood friend Tifa told me about?"

Zack crossed his arms. "I guess I am. So, you've been real good friends with her then?"

"No... I mean not really. We aren't 'good friends'... just maybe friends..."

"Maybe just friends? Cloud, the way you talked about her last time made it seem like a bit more than that." Zack said as he gave a friendly nudge to Cloud.

Cloud shook his head. "I only started to talk about her now."

"Oh that's right!" Zack laughed sheepishly. "I'm the one who has talked about her before. I mean like when I was still thinking about her and where she could be. I used to tell my buddy Kunsel about it a lot."

"Oh. Well, you two would get along..."

"Well we were childhood friends. Even if it was like only for two years. We just really hit it off."

"Yeah..." Cloud shuffled awkwardly as he kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"Come on spike," Zacksaid as he wrapped an arm around Cloud. "You gotta tell me about her! What's she like now and everything?"

"Uhm. Shes... fun. Understanding... Cloud mumbled. "She's a good person."

Zack kept on grinning. "Well that's good to hear! Glad to hear she's still the same as ever. You think maybe you could call or write to her and let her know where I am and what I'm up to? I'm sure she'd be happy to hear I made it this far."

Raising his head finally, Cloud stared at Zack and blinked. "I... I haven't really spoken to her... in a long time." Cloud then turned his head a little to look away from Zack. "Didn't want to disappoint her."

"Huh? Whaddya mean by that? "

Cloud shook his head and broke away from Zack's hold. "Don't worry about it Zack. You wouldn't get it. I'm just the guy who didn't make SOLDIER."

Zack frowned. "Hey... what's not making SOLDIER have to do with it?"

Cloud sighed, but he didn't move from his spot. Zack could see there was a lot of deep concentration going on his face. Eventually he sighed again and shook his head. "No… it's nothing. Nevermind. I think I should just go."

"Hey wait a minute!" Zack said as he grabbed onto Cloud. "You can't just leave a guy hanging like that. We're friends after all, right?" Zack flashed one of his best charismatic grins as he spoke, knowing that it usually would lighten the mood.

It did just that as he saw Cloud finally smile in return for a moment. It faded after a minute, but Cloud actually started to talk again. "When I left Niebelheim... I told Tifa I was gonna join SOLDIER. That I would come protect her when she needed help... but, I'm just a useless footman." Cloud dropped his head afterwards, going back to stare at the floor.

Zack blinked, feeling a bit surprised. He knew that it had been about ten years since he saw Tifa, but he hadn't expected to hear something like this. "You also promised to protect her?"

"Yeah…" Cloud's voice was barely over a whisper but to a SOLDIER, Zack could still hear it easily.

Sighing Zack ran a hand slowly up and down his neck. "I guess maybe I was jumping to things too fast. Like I said it has been like ten years at this point… and times change as we grow older."

"She still cares about you though," Cloud replied. "She told me that she hasn't forgotten the promise she made with you."

"Wait, really? She hasn't forgotten?" Zack asked, feeling a huge wave of relief wash over him. "Man, that just is really nice to hear, you know? After all these years of wondering, she still remembers."

Zack's attention was drawn back to Cloud's face. He could see the slight sadness that was covering his face, though it was like he wanted to hide it. Zack could tell that Cloud clearly had more thoughts on this subject than he was saying. Zack knew though, if he was going to be friends with Cloud, which he totally was, then he needed to make sure to clear up some things.

"Seriously though, uh did you like Tifa too or something?"

Cloud's eyes immediately went wide which only confirmed Zack's theory. "U-Um no. I mean not really…" Cloud started to shift a little more. "I mean she was the only one who was actually nice to me. But I don't know if I would say that…"

"You don't gotta be afraid, Cloud. I wouldn't be upset. You heard me when I say that it's been about ten years or so? We still think about each other, but that's all we got. We haven't actually seen each other so who knows what would happen if we got to meet again."

"I guess you're right."

"Buuuut! I still wanna know as much as you can tell me!" Zack exclaimed before stretching out his arms. "If we ever get the chance to go to Nibelheim, we are totally going to go talk to her."

"Well _you_ can talk to her… if I'm not SOLDIER… I'd rather not."

"Oh no, you will talk to her. You can't just shy away like that," Zack said before going to ruffle Cloud's hair. "I am sure, if I know Tifa based on the two years of childhood that I knew her, that she would still like you either way."

Cloud ended up laughing. He wasn't sure why, but he felt it had to do with Zack practically raiding with positive energy and goofiness. He started to feel better than he had before Zack came to talk to him. Before that, he was still worried what would happen when he talked to Zack about Tifa and what he would say. Everything went far smoother than he could have thought about it. But now all he had to do was try and supply answers to the many questions Zack would no doubt have to ask.

* * *

That night Zack flopped down onto his bed sighing happily. He still couldn't believe what had happened, but it was so much better than what he could have expected. After so many years of waiting and wondering, he finally knew where Tifa was.

" _She still thinks of me… well at least from the last time Cloud saw her, but that means she still probably does! Ah man… I just want to see her again. I want to talk and stuff… get to know her now that we're older."_

Zack rolled on to his side. " _I thought I couldn't stop thinking about her before, but now I really can't stop thinking about her. Tifa… I know it's been years and Cloud's your friend and all… but I wonder if you feel the same way I do… "_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more development going on here, but still all good things. Sooner or later though Zack and Tifa will see each other again :)


	5. Chapter 5

Time had passed and eventually Zack and Cloud were assigned to a mission to none other than Nilbilhiem. They were accompanying Sephiroth of course, but that was the last thing that was on Zack's mind at this point. The entire ride there he couldn't help but smile to himself, feeling more and more excited the closer they got. Though he could see Cloud clearly didn't look as happy to be returning.

"Hey, what gives Cloud?"

Cloud shook his head. "Nothing… just didn't expect to be back like this…"

"Is it about the SOLDIER thing?" Zack asked.

With becoming closer friends with Cloud over the months, he had come to learn that Cloud had tried several times to make it to SOLDIER, but each time he wasn't able to pass the test. He was usually pretty discouraged from it, but Zack made sure to be by his side afterwards to try and cheer him up.

"Yeah…" Cloud whispered.

"Hey I didn't I tell you not to worry about that stuff?" Zack said. "None of that should matter." Though honestly his opinion of SOLDIER had wavered far from his original views, he kept that part to himself.

"I know… I am just worried about being seen."

"Well you are friends with me, Cloud! So that makes you cool no matter what."

Laughing, Cloud started to smile again. "Thanks Zack."

"Yeah! No problem buddy."

Zack thought to bring up something else to talk about, but all that was left on his mind was Tifa. He knew that Cloud was probably still weary of talking about her, regardless of how much Zack tried to encourage him to not be afraid of what she would think. So Zack kept his thoughts to himself about Tifa, just constantly wondering if he was even going to be able to find her or more really if he would have the time.

When they arrived in Nibelheim, Zack and Spehiroth had walked ahead of Cloud and the other Infantryman who was with them. Zack kept looking every which way for any of the townspeople who might have been Tifa. But so far he didn't see anyone that felt familiar. Even though it had been years he just knew he would recognize her on the spot.

They were just making it to the Inn that they were staying at, when a voice spoke up from behind them. "Are you one of the SOLDIER people who've come to investigate?"

"Yep, 1st class, mind you... 1st class." Zack turned around to face the person, but as soon as his eyes fell on to the source he stopped. "Wait! Tifa!? Is that you?"

He felt like he didn't even need to ask, for he knew he could never forget those reddish brown eyes completed by dark black hair. As he waited for an answer, he could see that she was staring at him with her eyes widening slowly. Within the next second her eyes began to water as she covered her mouth to try and muffle the sob that had started.

Right away Zack walked over to her, resisting the urge to just run and grab on to her. He was surprised by his amount of restraint, but maybe it was all because his mind was more shocked than anything. "Hey it's all right. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

With tears streaking down her face, she moved forward towards him a little more. "It's really... really you, isn't it?"

Grinning happily he finally threw his arms around her and held her tightly. He had the urge to shout happily about seeing her again, but he could still tell that maybe he needed to save that energy for another time. "Yep, you bet it's me! It's really good to see you again Tifa."

Tifa smiled through her tears. "You too. But I never thought... I'd see you again. Not for a long time at least."

"Well, Zack Fair always keeps his promises. No matter what," Zack chuckled as he rested his head against hers.

Tifa laughed lightly. "Zack... that's right. You really never forgot?" Tifa tilted her head up at him, staring into his deep eyes which now were a much lighter blue than she remembered.

Zack grinned at her once more. "How could I forget? We were best friends back then! You and I running around the houses in Gongaga... chasing each other or exploring. Those were good times."

Tifa nodded. "Yeah... It's so long ago now I can barely remember it. I was so young... but you're here. You're finally here, and you're in SOLDIER."

"Yep, it was tough getting to SOLDIER too. But I made it! I'll tell you what though, I have a certain fri-"

Sephiroth was suddenly standing next to them with his arms crossed. He stared at Zack before clearing his throat. "Enough talk. We're here on business." He walked back towards the Inn after that.

"Ah..." Zack trailed off. "I guess we will continue this later, right?"

"Yeah, later. It's really good to see you Zack." Tifa beamed before she wiped away her tears.

"I'll be sure to find you as soon as I can, okay?"

"Right!" Tifa said before she headed off elsewhere into town.

After that Sephiroth headed inside to the Inn after giving his instructions to Zack and the others. Now that it was just them, Zack turned to Cloud who was now wearing his helmet. "Hey, seriously? You're wearing your helmet? Tifa was just here!"

"I can't… I just don't feel like it."

"Hmm… all right, but you aren't getting off that easy," Zack replied, giving a small chuckle.

After that Zack headed inside to set down some of his stuff. Once that was all set and done Sephiroth told him that they would be headed out towards the mansion at the edge of town. The press wanted their publicity anyways and they did have a tour to go on while here.

But when they got up there, Zack was surprised at who he saw standing at the gate. "Tifa!? You're our guide?"

"At your service," Tifa replied.

After the first picture was taken, Tifa moved a little closer to Zack. She placed her hands on her hips before speaking again. "Nobody is a better guide than me in this town."

"Oh?" Zack asked as they began to walk. "Is that so? Isn't it dangerous?"

"Nah I can handle it!" Tifa said proudly.

"No way, I can't see you getting involved in something like this. You could get hurt!"

"She'll be fine, if you protect her," Sephiroth interrupted.

"Well I know that! I already got that planned! Had that intent for a while!" Zack exclaimed which caused Tifa to giggle lightly. "All right then! Let's get this tour on the road, okay?"

Tifa nodded to him and the tour up through the far reaches of Nibilheim began. They made their way up the mountain side as Tifa talked about a few things as she led the way. Mainly she stayed by Zack's side as she talked, with the occasional glance to Zack. Sometimes Tifa would just ask him a question though, whether it was about other monsters he had encountered or about how he fought with his sword.

Zack wanted to say more, to ask more, but he knew he had to wait. Now was not the time to just idly chat, even though he knew he really really wanted to. Tifa was here. She was here and she remembered him and remembered their promise.

" _When we get a break from doing all this work, I got soooo much I wanna ask her. I bet she has things she wants to ask me to. Gah I just wanna not do this! Uuugh!"_

When they got up to the reactor, Sephiroth headed up the stairs right away, Tifa started to follow and Zack held out his hand. "You should wait out here, Tifa."

"But I want to go inside and look, too!"

Before Zack could give a proper answer, Sephiroth spoke up instead. He always seemed to have a way of interrupting their conversations. "This is a top-secret facility. Non-Shinra personnel are not permitted."

"But…!" Tifa started to say, but Sephiroth spoke again.

Now he faced Cloud, who still wore his helmet. "Keep the young lady safe."

Without another word he continued up the stairs and Zack knew that meant he had to follow. He sighed before looking at Tifa. "Sorry Tifa, Seph has the final say. But hey, you'll be waiting for me to return?"

"Of course! I just wish I could see inside.."

"Ah it's just a reactor, nothing special about it. But I'll see you soon okay?"

"Okay," Tifa nodded in agreement.

Zack turned around and walked to Cloud, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning closer. "Hey here is your chance to talk to Tifa, Have fun with it."

With a smile Zack headed up the stairs into the reactor, hoping that all of what he had to do wouldn't take too long. That was what he hoped at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it to Nibilheim now! I got some plans in store for more time between Zack and Tifa so just you wait!


	6. Chapter 6

What had gone down within the reactor was not what Zack planned. Everything seemed to be falling apart and Genesis showing up just seemed to make things worse. But eventually Zack ran back out of the reactor to see what had happened after Sephiroth and Genesis left.

Out there he saw more Genesis copies and another monster attacking Cloud and Tifa. Cloud had tried to take a shot but was knocked to the ground while Tifa still remained, standing in a fighting position.

"Darn it…" Zack cursed as he grabbed his sword and ran down the stairs as fast as he could. He ran past Tifa and stood far in front of her, with his sword pointed towards the enemies. "Stay back, Tifa!"

"What? No wait! Let me help!"

Zack shook his head without looking back. "I'm not letting you get hurt from this. I made a promise to protect after all!"

He could hear a soft sigh from Tifa, but he was unsure if it was a dreamy type sigh or more of a defeated one. Either way he lunged forward to attack the monsters and clear them out.

Now that they were all gone, Zack turned around to see Tifa kneeling over Cloud's unconscious body. "Hey, how's he doing?"

Tifa looked up at Zack, offering a small smile. "He's still breathing, he was protecting me at least before you got here. Hope you're not too upset."

Zack chuckled. "Of course not. But come on, stay close and let's get him back to town."

"Right."

Tifa helped Cloud up to his feet, with him starting to wake back up. He stayed quiet though and Zack had a pretty good feeling as to why. But he wasn't going to say anything… not yet at least. "Okay, I'll move on ahead and take care of any monsters that show up, okay?"

Tifa smiled. "Of course, that's what you're here for after all."

"Hey I can do a lot more than just fighting monsters," Zack pouted slightly.

"Oh I know," Tifa replied teasingly.

As they walked back Zack kept his lead clearing out the monsters. After every fight he looked back to see Tifa and Cloud following behind. He wished he could stay by her side and just talk with her like how he imagined, but safety came first.

First protect and then talk. Zack did his best to remind himself again and again as they got further down the mountain. _"We will talk soon, Tifa. Don't you worry. I'm not going to waste any time after this."_

By the time they got back down to the town, Zack scanned the area to see if Sephiroth had come back. But he saw no sign of the silver haired man at all. He sighed, trying to wrap his head around the whole situation.

"Hey Zack, something the matter?"

"Huh?" Zack turned around and saw Tifa looking at him curiously. Cloud was currently resting against the side of the building, still staying quiet.

Zack sighed and shook his head. "Sorry Tifa, I can't really tell you."

"I guess not…" Tifa shrugged.

"I would if I could, but you wouldn't understand… you know complicated SOLDIER stuff."

Tifa smiled. "Thanks. I'll go and ask around for Sephiroth, okay?"

Zack nodded and then he held up his head. "Now wait a minute." He turned to Cloud and stared at him. "Don't you have anything to say?"

Cloud quietly shook his head.

Zack sighed and walked over to him and draped an arm over Cloud's shoulder. "I guess my buddy here got too shy to talk to you before."

"Oh? Is that right?" Tifa laughed lightly. "Well it was still very nice of you to protect me earlier."

"You see? You don't have to be embarrassed," Zack said as he grinned at Cloud.

"Zack…" Cloud whispered, but he didn't argue. He didn't even try to pull away from Zack.

"Now come on," he whispered, lowering his voice a little. "Don't you wanna show her that pretty little face on yours?"

Cloud shook his head and went back to saying nothing else. It made Zack feel a little down, but it was Cloud's choice in the end. Even if Zack hated to see his best friend so pessimistic, he had to let the guy make his own choices. But at least Zack planned to still be there for him to talk about it. Maybe at least some good could come from that.

Zack sighed. "I guess he's not in the mood for talking right now.'

"Aw that's okay," Tifa said afterward. Well maybe later we can all talk. But I'll see you two around, okay?"

"Oh you'll definitely see me later," Zack chuckled. "We still got a lot to catch up on!"

Tifa laughed. It was so gentle and sweet, making Zack feel warm inside. He wanted to hear more of her laughter. He wanted to find all the ways he could to get her to laugh.

"I'll hold you to that. See you later, Zack." Tifa waved to him before running off to another part of the town.

Now that it was just the boys, Zack led Cloud back into the Inn. Right away Cloud moved up the stairs on his own, leaving Zack behind for the moment.

By the time he got up to the room, Cloud was already sitting on the bed, his helmet off and to the side. Zack sighed slightly as he went to place his sword by the table before heading over to the other bed next to Cloud's.

"So you're not going to talk to Tifa at all?"

"No."

"Come on man, you can't spend your entire time here hiding from her."

"I just don't want to, okay? I don't have confidence like you do."

Zack let out a sigh as he leaned back on the bed. "So there's nothing I can do to convince you that you have nothing to be afraid of?"

"But I couldn't keep her safe…"

"Oh no, don't start on that," Zack said as he stood up. "You managed to keep her safe before I got there."

"But it would have been better if I were SOLDIER…"

Zack sighed, flopping down to the bed. Originally he would have encouraged Cloud like he had before. He would have supported him all the way for the dreams of being in SOLDIER. But now… it had drastically changed and he had yet to tell Cloud. How could he ever tell the guy? There was no simple or easy way to explain it.

"Zack…?"

Snapping his head up, he could see that Cloud was looking at him. He needed an answer after all. Zack figured he had to say something at least. Something without going too deeply into it.

"SOLDIER is like a den of monsters. Don't go inside."

"What happened?" Cloud asked because of course that would make him all the more curious.

Sighing Zack shook his head lightly. "I don't know man… I thought I knew, but…"

Falling back onto the bed Zack put his hands behind his head. He let out one more loud and exasperated sigh. "Maybe I'll figure it out… but for right now I just don't know."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Nah you don't gotta be sorry. I guess we both just have our things we want to be quiet about…"

"I guess so…"

Zack rolled over to the other side of the bed. "I'm bad at this sorry…" With a heavy sigh he rolled back and jumped to his feet. He felt so pent up and frustrated over everything and he couldn't help but vent out it all.

Thankfully that seemed to do just the trick. He spouted out his feelings and then with just a little bit of small talk with Cloud, he started to feel better. He was able to remind himself over what was important to him, with that being his dreams and honor and beyond just that. It was more than just dreams and honor, and now that he had time to think he could remember properly.

Finally with his mind at ease he knew he could sleep, for the most part. As he was trying to drift off he began to think of Tifa again. It was already late at night, but he really wanted to see her again. But he was not one to go and impose on someone at such an hour, even if he really wanted to see her again.

" _I guess… I will just have to find her again in the morning."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly I build up to the good moments of Zack and Tifa, don't you worry. I got plans :)


	7. Chapter 7

Zack woke up the next morning nice and early as he always did. He turned to look around the room and saw that Cloud was still fast asleep and Sephiroth… well Sephiroth just wasn't even in the room. He started to wonder if the guy had even come back, so Zack quickly got dressed and was ready to head out. Cloud was still a bit tired so he decided to go on ahead of him for the investigation.

Running down the stairs he saw the door open and Tifa ran in. He smiled as he ran up to her, repressing the urge to give her a hug. He really wanted to, but he knew that he had to stick to finding Sephiroth first. But it still was such a conflicting feeling in his mind.

"Hey Tifa, what's up? Did you find anything?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I found out that Sephiroth is at the Shinra Manor."

"That big mansion outside of town?"

"Yup," Tifa answered. "Shinra has owned it for a long time."

"Ahh gotcha! Well thanks Tifa, I guess I will head on out there now."

"Be careful Zack."

Zack gave her a smile. "Oh you know me, of course I'll be careful. I'll see you as soon as you figure out what Sephiroth is up to, okay?"

"Okay," Tifa said with a smile in return. "I'll see you then."

After that Zack headed out of the Inn and started walking towards the manor. Only a few feet away from the Inn though his phone rang. Picking it up he heard the familiar soft and familiar voice of Aerith.

"Aerith!" he exclaimed happily.

" _I finally got through,"_ Aeirth replied.

"Yeah! And guess…." Zack was about to go off telling her everything that was on his mind, but he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He sighed before closing his eyes.

" _Hmm? Guess what?"_

"Not now. It's not really a good time. I'll call you later though?"

" _Oh, I see. But come, you can at least finish what you were going to say. It's rude to leave a girl hanging like that."_

"You're right. I couldn't do that. Okay real quick. But I met her… she's here. Tifa… I actually talked with her again."

The day after Zack had found out that Cloud was from the same town that Tifa was living in, he had ran to Aerith as fast as he could. He needed to express all the excitement that he felt bubbling inside of him and he knew that Aerith would listen. She still listened and laughed at his energy, seeing it as very cute and passionate that he could care this much.

Once he learned he would be going to Nibelheim he was even more ecstatic and Aerith told him that he better keep her in check, as she wanted in on his love life since he so easily poured out his feelings to Tifa to her.

" _Oh Zack! That's wonderful to hear. I hope everything went well between you two."_

"Hey you know me Aerith, of course it went well! She was happy to see me and everything! I am going to make every day here with her count."

" _You better! And you know I will wanna hear all about it."_

"I will, don't worry," Zack replied before he said goodbye to Aerith.

After that was taken care of, Zack went back on his way to find out where Sephiroth had gone. In the end he found the man, but he had locked himself in the library that was in the basement of the manor. He had been muttering things that he read in the book he held and when Zack tried asking him anything, he just asked to be alone.

It was a pointless effort, and Zack knew it. With nothing more to do he headed back outside of the manor and headed back into town. On his way there he spotted Tifa standing next to the water tower, seemingly occupied with something on her phone.

Grinning, Zack carefully moved closer to her, trying his best to not make a sound. When he got behind her and wrapped his arms around her as quickly ready to shout her name as he did so. What he did not expect though was to be elbowed in the gut within the flash of an eye.

He staggered back before he fell to the ground. Looking up he was met with Tifa's shocked expression. "Z-Zack!? What do you think you were doing?!"

"Sneaking up for a surprise hug of course! Like I used to do when we were kids!" Zack exclaimed.

Tifa couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Well we aren't exactly kids anymore. You okay though?" Tifa walked closer and held out her hand to Zack to help him up.

He took hold of her and pulled himself back up to his feet. Right away he stretched before placing his hands on his sides. "Totally! You know me, I can take a hit any day and come back ready for more. You know, if you've been practicing how to fight, I'd love to see more of it cause damn, I didn't expect such a quick attack like that. Where'd you learn to do that?"

Slowly Tifa looked away, her eyes becoming distant. "I've been teaching myself, well not exactly. I mean I have a teacher who has been training me but I practice a lot in my own personal time. I was starting to think… that…"

"Hey… what is it?"

With not much of a reaction to his words, Tifa crossed her arms. "I was worried that my certain knight and shining armor would never show up. I didn't want to just wait around forever being defenseless."

"Oh… Oh Tifa I am so sorry. I know it's been years, but I finally made it. You know I would never wanna break my promise."

"I know you did," Tifa said as she finally turned around to face him. "I'm really glad you finally did, but I just needed to do something with my time as I waited."

"I get it, but hey that just means you could also end up protecting me sometime," Zack laughed before giving one of his usual cheerful smiles. "We could protect each other and I think it would be pretty great."

"Hmm I might have to agree to that."

"Do I get a hug now?" Zack asked, pressed his hands together to give a small pleading look.

Tifa nodded and before she could even move, Zack already had his arms around her. He breathed in happily before exhaling it all out slowly. "You know, I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too, Zack."

"I never stopped thinking about you, honest! You can ask my friend Aerith. I bet you two would really get along. But I really kept on thinking about you all of this time," Zack said as he rested his head against Tifa's.

Just this moment of having her in his embrace, it warmed his entire heart. He hadn't felt this relaxed since probably when he initially met Aerith. But this was something else far stronger. His heart was pulling him, telling him to be closer to Tifa, to never let her go.

"I'm glad Zack, I'm just so… I don't know how to explain it. I just feel…"

"Overwhelmed? Just a lot of feeling pushing in your chest? Nervousness?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"I feel the same, but when I am here with you right now, it all goes away. Everything feels so nice when I have you in my arms here. Like I'm finally complete or something."

A light laugh filled Zack's ears. A wonderfully sweet laugh. "That is probably the cheesiest thing I ever heard."

"Well… is it working?" Zack asked smugly.

Tifa pulled back from their hug, staring at Zack. Reaching out she placed a hand on his cheek. "It might."

Placing his hand over hers he beamed. "Well we still got plenty of time for me to try some more. Wanna maybe go grab some breakfast? I just realized I haven't eaten anything yet all day. It will be my treat."

"All right Zack, let's go. Plus we can talk and finally have time to catch up."

"Yeah, you know I am going to spend as much time as I can with you. I want to know more, I want to know what you've been up to. And also we totally gotta train together. I really wanna see your moves!"

"One thing at a time Zack," Tifa replied. "We got plenty of time right?"

"Of course. Though when I am with you there feels like there is no time at all, just us."

Another laugh escaped from Tifa's lips. "Is this how you are now? Just trying to be flirty every chance you get?"

"It might just be! But you gotta talk to me more and find out."

Reaching for his hand, Tifa started to pull him along. "Then let's get going, shall we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at that I managed a new chapter. Anyways I am trying to think what else I can have them do and all in the time they got. I have some ideas, but how about you guys? Any thoughts?


	8. Chapter 8

The day was more wonderful than Zack could have imagined.l He got to walk around and spend all of his hours with Tifa. Finally to have her back within his sights and within his arms, he was overwhelmed with so many feelings. He could barely even begin to describe how he felt over the matter.

This was what was happening. He really had made it to Nibelheim and found Tifa. Tifa, his childhood friend who he couldn't stop thinking about. The very childhood friend he had made a special promise to protect.

He had spent the entire rest of his day just talking with Tifa, just talking about what they had been doing with their lives since they last saw each other. They did have so many years to catch up on after all. There was so much time that had been lost and Zack knew there was no way to fill all of that, but he could make new moments and fresh memories.

The sun was already beginning to set and Zack was walking Tifa home, still talking about past events with her. He had his hand close to hers, swinging it back and forth. He was so tempted to reach for it and hold it tight, but at the same time he felt nervous. It was all so mixed in his mind and he didn't want to be too overbearing towards her just after reuniting.

All at the same time though he wanted to hold her hand. He wanted to hold her close and forget about everything else. Sadly he knew he couldn't just abandon his mission. He couldn't just up and leave it, especially with Sephiroth locking himself up in that mansion. But at least Zack could try to take the time he had to spend it nicely with Tifa.

"So you really fell all the way down to the slums and survived the fall?" Tifa asked.

"Ha ha, yup. You know me, I always had a thick skull."

"Of course you did," Tifa laughed.

"Plus I landed in Aerith's flower bed, so that did help cushion the fall. Thankfully didn't damage the flowers though. Aerith would have had my head if I crushed them for real."

"So this Aerith… you mentioned her before. Just who is she?" Tifa asked, her voice wavering slightly.

"She's just a friend of mine, I stayed true to you," Zack replied quickly. "She is just a really good friend of mine who helped me keep my head on straight. She helped me understand how true my feelings for you were."

"All right, if you say so. But when I go to Midgar, you better introduce me. You said we would be good friends anyways."

"Wait… when you got to Midgar?"

"Of course," Tifa shrugged. "That's where you're living now anyways. If I want to keep up with you, it would be easier. Plus… I would be able to find my friend maybe."

"Ooh?" Zack asked slyly. While he was going to stay true to his word and not tell Tifa, he couldn't help but have a little fun with it. "Some friend of yours?"

"Come on Zack," Tifa replied before lightly shoving him. "It's not like that… I care for him, but not in the same way I feel about you."

"So just a friend? Well if that's the case then you are safe," Zack chuckled before he finally moved to wrap his arms around Tifa.

"Ah Zack!" Tifa laughed as she playfully tried to shove him off of her.

"Seriously though," Zack said as he let go of her a second later. "I know you'll find your friend soon enough. If you ever wanna talk about it, just let me know okay?"

"All right, thanks Zack. I think I'll wait though, just for a bit until I get my thoughts straight."

The two arrived back at the Inn now and Tifa turned to face Zack straight on. She smiled happily, grinning ear to ear. "Zack, thank you for today. This has been one of the best days in my life so far."

"You're welcome. Plus we have more days to come. As long as I'm here and I'm not required to do anything I will spend as much time as I can with you."

"You're too sweet Zack. I don't know how you do it," Tifa replied as she placed her hands on her hips. She let out a sigh, one of happy content sounds.

"Hey, I'm just me being me. And that means you gotta put up with me," Zack chuckled before reaching out to take hold of one of Tifa's hands.

He bent over and gently pressed his lips to the top of her hand. He could feel a surge of warmth swell within him and he wished he could go further, but he reminded himself not to get too far ahead of himself.

"Tomorrow then? Meet up outside the inn for another day of fun?" Zack asked as he let go of Tifa's hand.

Tifa nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Goodnight Tifa," Zack whispered before he started to walk to the doors. Before he opened them though he added one last thing to say to Tifa. "I love you."

"I love you too, Zack."

With seeing Tifa smile once more, Zack finally headed on inside. He smiled all the way up to the bedroom and flopped down onto the bed. The day couldn't have gone any better, aside from Sephiroth locking himself in the Nibelheim manor. Zack tried not to worry so much, he could just hope that Sephiroth would snap out of whatever it was he was thinking before they left. At the same time he hoped they wouldn't have to leave all too soon. He needed more time with Tifa, he just wanted that nice time he could enjoy and relax with her.

Eventually Cloud came back into the room, looking tired and worn out. He shuffled over to the bed and sat down before he started to take off the pieces to his uniform. "Hey Zack."

"Hey Cloud, so Sephiroth is still over at the manor?"

"Yup… doesn't seem like he is going to be leaving anytime soon. It's like he wasn't even listening to me when I tried to talk to him."

"Ah I guess we just gotta let him do whatever it is he is doing…" Zack sighed as he covered his eyes with his arm. "But at least I gotta spend some time with Tifa. You know… she is wondering about you."

"Oh…"

"Hey seriously, you should try and talk to her. I promised I wouldn't so I'm not, but if she keeps asking, I don't know how long I could keep it up," Zack replied. After a moment he found himself to feel restless so he stood back up and started to do a few squats. "Sorry… I know you're still worried, but I just want to let you know that I think it would be good."

"I still… I still don't feel like I should…" Cloud murmured.

"What if I was right beside you when you try talking to her?"

Cloud shrugged. "Maybe…"

"Just let me know okay, buddy?" slowly Zack started to come to a stop from his squats session. He got enough in as he saw fit so he went back to relaxing on the bed.

"Sure. But maybe not tomorrow…" Cloud whispered. He then stood up from the bed and started to walk toward the door. "Think I may take a shower."

"Go ahead, I'll wait till after."

Cloud nodded. "Thanks Zack."

Now he was alone in the room again, alone to be with his thoughts. He really wished he could understand what Cloud was feeling. Sure he had a basic grasp of it, but he'd never truly know how Cloud felt towards all of this. But either way he was going to be the very best friend that he could and help him along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back at it again with this story. Sorry for the wait but hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
